Torah 161 · תורה קס״א

Controversy raises and elevates a person <with increased zeal in the service of God>. This is because “man is the tree of the field” (Deuteronomy 20:19).

Now, a tree laying on the ground cannot possibly raise itself up, except when flood waters come over it. Then, the water picks up and carries the tree. And controversy is called water, as it is written (Psalms 88:18), “They surrounded me like water all day long; together they encircled me.”